The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Sports
Wednesday, February 14, 2018 — 7A

Behind Enemy Lines: Fran McCaffrey

Iowa coach Fran McCaffery

stepped to the podium at Big
Ten media day and proclaimed
this was “the deepest team
we’ve ever had.”

Perhaps he meant it at the

time, but the results have hardly
bore that out.

The
Hawkeyes
come
to

Crisler Center Wednesday at
just 12-15 overall and 3-11 in
Big Ten play, good for 11th in
the conference — with no major
role to play for
the rest of the
year but spoiler.
This season will
mark
the
first

time since 2010-
11 that Iowa has
won fewer than
eight conference
games.

Still,
the

offense
that

McCaffery
praised at media
day is still capable of bunching
points,
with
guard
Jordan

Bohannon and forward Tyler
Cook providing a formidable
inside-out scoring punch.

The Daily sat down with

McCaffery at Big Ten Media Day
to discuss his projections for
the season and his relationship
with Michigan coach John
Beilein:

The Michigan Daily: You

lose Peter Jok, but return 77%
of your scoring 86% of your
minutes, do feel like you guys
are being a little overlooked?

Fran McCaffery: It’s really

irrelevant to me — and I mean
that sincerely — what the
projections are. We have a
good team. What we have to
do is play well, we have to play
together. We have to play better
defense. You can talk about that
stuff and get hung up on it if you
want to, but it’s a waste of time.

TMD: You’ve been high on

your offense…

FM: We’re going to score. We

can score.

TMD: What do you think you

guys are doing defensively that
can help you improve?

FM: The critical thing is

we’ve got to be more connected.
We weren’t connected last year
in transition — because we’re
going to be in transition a lot.
We run. If you run, you’ve got
to run back. You’ve got to get
matched up. We really weren’t
connected. When you play fast,
sometimes that happens, we’ll

just go down
and
score,

start
trading

baskets.
Then

you can’t get
the
necessary

stops in crunch
time. So instead
of
winning

a
five-point

game you lose
a
three-point

game. For us,
we have to be

connected on the defensive end.
That’s indicated in rebounding
— second shots are what killed
us. Second shots are what
killed us. Second shots lead
to high-percentage shots and
uncontested
threes,
right?

That’s what they lead to. Even if
we play solid defense — not even
great defense — but rebound the
first miss, then
we can run. We’ll
be a lot better
than last year.

TMD:
Who

do
you
think

is
sticking
out

most defensively,
grabbing
rebounds
in

practice?

FM:
For
us,

it’s been a lot
of
different

people.
(Freshman
forward

Luka) Garza is a phenomenal
rebounder, might be our best.

Cook
is
rebounding
better.

(Nicholas) Baer has always
been a good rebounder. Ahmad
Wagner, Cordell Pemsl, those
guys, Dom Uhl. Cordell has
really been good.

TMD:
How
has
Garza

adjusted so far?

FM:
Really
good.
Think

about it. We go oversees and
play four games. Ten years ago
we weren’t allowed to bring our
freshmen, but now we can bring
our freshmen. We practice,
everything’s new — how we play
ball screens, terminology, how
we run the break — everything’s
new. He’s gotta pick it all up in
a couple of weeks and then we
go play. We play four games, he
plays half the game. He played
20 minutes a game four times,
he averages 22.5 and 10.5. Those
are staggering numbers, I don’t
care who you’re playing against.

TMD: I read you talked to

John Beilein about coaching
your son...

FM: I did. More than once.
TMD:
What
was
that

conversation like?

FM: I’ve talked to him a lot

about it. First of all, I really have
a lot of respect for him, known
him for a long time, got to know
his wife. Unless you talk to
someone who’s going through
it — he just said, the greatest
thing was that I got to see my
son everyday. You take that

for
granted,

unless they’re
somewhere
else. He said
there
were

times
when

he
didn’t

play as much
and
it
was

uncomfortable,
but
that
kid

competed and
was
really
a

good player for

them. Connor (McCaffery) will
do the same as Patrick (Beilein)
for me.

Calm and confident, Lavigne provides support for Michigan in net

At the end of regulation in its

December trip to East Lansing,
the No. 18 Michigan hockey
team had been blown out, 5-0.
But this Friday proved a much
different story.

The
Wolverines
left
the

first 60 minutes tied up at
one, and with nothing added
to the scoreboard by either
team in overtime, Michigan
and Michigan State headed to
a shootout.

Before sophomore Hayden

Lavigne skated back to his
spot between the pipes, Mel
Pearson briefly spoke to him.

“I just told him to ‘get ‘er

done,’ ” Pearson said.

And adhering to his coach’s

advice, the netminder did just
that.

Fully locked in, Lavigne

first stopped Spartans forward
Taro
Hirose’s
shootout

attempt. Then he left Mitch
Lewandowski with the same
fate. And to secure the extra
Big Ten point, Lavigne finally
shut down Patrick Khodorenko
in conjunction with senior
forward
Tony
Calderone

knocking in the Wolverines’
last attempt.

This
performance
was

largely in contrast with the
last time Lavigne played at
Munn Ice Arena, on Dec. 8. In
that game, after surrendering
four goals over the first two
periods of play, Lavigne was
benched and his counterpart
Jack LaFontaine was put in.

Lavigne’s
performance

this past Friday — where he
allowed just one goal — was
then matched by a nearly
flawless showing in Detroit
the
following
night.
The

goaltender stopped 32 pucks,
letting just two slip by en route
to Michigan’s 3-2 victory.

These
big
outings
for

Lavigne,
which
aided
the

Wolverines
in
claiming
a

crucial
tie
and
win
over

Michigan State this weekend,
are emblematic of newfound
confidence the netminder has
gained over the course of this

season.

Since
the
beginning
of

January — when he was given
the starting role — Lavigne
has
positioned

himself
both

more decisively
and
with

more
ease,

demonstrating
comfort
in

the net. These
qualities
were

not
nearly

as
evident

during the last
series
with

the Spartans. And right now,
Pearson
believes
Lavigne’s

morale is at a season peak.

“His
calmness,
his

confidence, he’s up on the top

of his crease more,” Pearson
said. “When you see him up
on the top of the blue paint,
and then when you see less

movement from
him, he’s not all
over the place
…. he’s playing
and
handling

the puck better
and coming out
of the net and
moving it.

“It’s
a
lot

of those little
things. He just
seems
more

dialed in and he’s got a lot of
confidence right now. And
you have to earn that, it’s not
something you can go into the
store and buy. … And he’s done

a good job of that.”

Confidence
can
manifest

itself in different ways during
a shootout, either positively
or negatively, due to the way
in which the high-pressure
situation
puts
a
spotlight

on every move a goaltender
makes.

For Lavigne on Friday, the

former held true. But though
he made it look easy, playing
in goal during a shootout is
anything but.

“It’s kind of a mental battle

between who is more patient
between the shooter and the
goalie,” Lavigne said. “It’s
definitely a tough situation,
kind of 50-50 on each one. As
long as I can out weight (the
shooter), usually I have a good

chance to make the save.”

There
is
a
significant

amount of strategy that goes
into how a goaltender adjusts
his
positioning

and
degree

of
movement

in
shootout

situations.
Lavigne has been
working
on
an

approach
that

works
well
for

him.

“I try and get

out a couple feet
above the crease
and match his speed coming
in so that we’re kind of coming
back together,” Lavigne said.
“But at the same time, it’s a
lot of timing. If he’s shooting

the puck, you’re still out far
enough. But if he dekes, you
still have enough speed to
move laterally.”

These situations — though

fairly rare as the Wolverines
have seen just three — hold
importance as they provide
the victor with an extra Big
Ten point. Lavigne has played
in the net during each of these
outings this season.

Given
the
high
stakes,

they are often replicated in
Michigan’s practices.

“We have some shootouts

every day before the game,”
Pearson said. “It’s more of a
fun shutout, not too serious.
But there’s different drills,
where you’ll have a break
away type of situation, so (the
goaltenders) see enough of
those.”

While confidence in the

shootouts is necessary, this
attitude
first
stems
from

a
goaltender’s
confidence

in
regulation.
And
though

strategy can get a goaltender
so far, the key thing to keep in
check, according to Lavigne, is
mentality.

And with the stakes rising

given that the Wolverines’
regular season is coming to
a close, keeping mentality on
point is more important than
ever for Lavigne. However, the
added pressure of a potential
home-ice advantage in the
Big Ten Tournament and a
potential bid to the NCAA
Tournament seem to be acting
as motivators.

“There’s

definitely
a

little
bit
(of

additional
pressure), but
at
the
same

time,
that

makes it more
exciting,”
Lavigne said.
“That’s
why

we
come
to

play at a school

like this, to play in these big
games. So, with the pressure
comes more excitement, comes
a louder fan base, so it’s a good
atmosphere to be around.”

Michigan looks to reverse course

The
Michigan
women’s

basketball team will face its
mirror image on Wednesday.

The 23rd-ranked Wolverines

(9-5
Big
Ten,
20-7
overall)

have fallen from the proverbial
mountaintop, dropping three of
their last four after being ranked
as high as 13th. Minnesota (8-4,
19-6) has done the opposite,
winning five of its last six to insert
itself into the NCAA Tournament
conversation.

A
few
weeks
ago,
ESPN

projected them as a four-seed,
with
home-court
advantage

in the first two rounds, in the
site’s latest Bracketology, the
Wolverines were given a nine-
seed. Their margin of error is
slipping away and, after freshman
forward Hailey Brown suffered a
lower leg injury during Sunday’s
loss at Michigan State, the picture
looks even more bleak.

Michigan could still get in even

if it loses the next two. It has a
strong resume, having beaten
then-No. 8 Ohio State on the road,
the Big Ten is third in RPI and a
run in the conference tournament
would
mitigate
late-season

troubles.

Or, the Wolverines could avoid

needing to make the argument at
all. The way to do that is simple:
Beat the Golden Gophers.

But
simple

doesn’t always
translate
to

easy.

Minnesota

starts
four

guards,
a

combination
that will force
Michigan
to

switch between
man and zone
on
defense.

If
Brown
is

unable to go, the Wolverines will
likely start freshman guard Deja
Church in her place and go man-

to-man. That would entail putting
senior forward Jillian Dunston on
a guard, but Michigan coach Kim
Barnes Arico has been unafraid
to do that in the
past. Dunston is
capable in those
situations, but a
size
mismatch

could favor the
Golden Gophers.
If Brown plays,
the
Wolverines

will start in zone,
moving to man
when
Church

is in the game.
Either way, Michigan will shuttle
between them depending on
which lineup is in the game.

It
doesn’t
help
that
the

Minnesota one of the highest-
scoring teams in the nation,
notching 110.5 points per 100
possessions,
according
to

HerHoopStats.
Kenisha
Bell,

Carlie Wagner, Destiny Pitts
and Gadiva Hubbard — their
four
starting
guards
—
all

average
double-digit
points.

Though defense hasn’t been
the Wolverines’ issue of late,
Michigan will be tested on that
end.

The Wolverines’ best chance

of winning on the road will be
via shootout. Michigan scored
below .85 points per possession
in two of its last three games,
accounting
for
its
worst

two
offensive

performances
since a 74-49 loss
against
then-No.

5
Louisville
in

November.
Not

so coincidentally,
the
Wolverines

turned it over 26
and 23 times in
those two games,
respectively.

“That’s

been
really
the

problem, and we work on it,”
Barnes Arico said after Sunday’s
loss. “... I think, coming into the

year, we really knew that that
might be something that could
be a problem for us because we
weren’t returning a point guard.

… When we get
frazzled a little
bit, when we get
bummed, when
it’s
physical
a

little bit, we have
turned it over. So
it’s definitely a
work in progress.

“I think part

of it is, you know,
not really having
that true point

guard.
You
know,
Katelynn

(Flaherty) has done a tremendous
job for us filling that role, but
now we’re looking at Katelynn to
distribute, to score, to do a little
bit of everything. So, you know,
it’s important that somebody else
relieves some of the pressure for
her, which I think Deja’s doing
and is gonna improve on. But
she’s not completely ready yet.”

If that’s the case, Church

has to get ready fast. Michigan
has gone with a seven-woman
rotation for most of the season.
Without
Brown,
sophomore

guard Akienreh Johnson will
likely see a minutes uptick, but
she’s been a less than reliable
scorer this season, albeit in just
7.5 minutes per game. Junior
guard Nicole Munger will pick up
some of the slack, but it’s hard for
Flaherty to do much more than
the 23.6 points in 36.7 minutes
she’s averaging right now.

There’s an element to this

game that can’t be measured with
statistics, though. A win will seal
the Wolverines a tournament
berth, at least as much as a thing
like that can be sealed.

Michigan
has
been
free

falling. The Golden Gophers are
fast-rising. It’s crunch-time. If
the Wolverines don’t reverse
course, they will either back into
the tournament by the grace of
good luck or not get in at all.

Time to put up or shut up.

MEN’S BASKETBALL

MAX MARCOVITCH

Daily Sports Editor

“What we have

to do is play

well, we have to
play together.”

“... We have to
be connected

on the

defensive end.”

ETHAN SEARS
Daily Sports Writer

Michigan could
still get in if it
loses the next

two.

“... When it’s

physical a little

bit, we have

turned it over.”

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

SAM MOUSIGIAN/Daily

Sophomore goaltender Hayden Lavigne played well against Michigan State this past weekend, holding the Spartans to just three goals over two games.

ANNA MARCUS
Daily Sports Writer

“... He’s playing
and handling

the puck
better.”

“It’s kind of a
mental battle
between who is
more patient ...”